R Bar & Patio in Lawrence is now serving food, including smoked chicken wings and Maryland crab cakes

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Lawrence’s R Bar & Patio, at 610 Florida, on the west side of the college town, may be better known to longtime residents under its previous name: the Jet Lag Lounge. But for the last four years, it has been operating as the R Patio under owner James Shaffer.

A month ago, Shaffer brought on a minority partner, Brian Reeves — the two have been friends since they were undergraduates at Kansas State University — to oversee a major overhaul of the venue, adding a kitchen.

“There had never been food in this place before, so we installed a kitchen,” Reeves says. “We have some new equipment, some used equipment, but it’s fully outfitted so we can serve a limited but really interesting menu.”

Reeves is correct on both points. It’s a small menu, perfect for eating in a casual sports-bar setting. There’s nothing fried being served here. Smoked? That’s a different story.

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Reeves installed a smoker behind the bar so he can smoke, at the moment, two menu items: full-joint chicken wings and pork shoulder (for pulled pork sandwiches). The fat and meaty wings are brined in brown sugar, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes prior to going into the smoker, which burns only apple wood.

The wings are so succulent and delicious that they don’t really require sauce (and you can order them naked, or sauceless), but Reeves has tinkered with two sauces, very lightly brushed on the golden wings, for patrons who want either the traditional vinegary Buffalo sauce or a more searing “Facemelter” version.

Reeves smokes his meats in small batches daily. During the week, the bar opens at 4 p.m,. and the kitchen doesn’t begin serving until 5 p.m. (Saturdays and Sundays, the kitchen stays open from 1 to 10 p.m.)

Two of the surprise finds here are hot smoked skewers, including a luscious combination of bacon and cinnamon-dusted chunks of Granny Smith apples. The tartness of the soft-smoked fruit plays well with the crispy smokiness of the bacon.

Reeves uses real crabmeat for his Maryland crab cake sliders, which are excellent. He lightly binds the crabmeat with a tiny bit of panko bread crumbs, egg and mayonnaise before grilling them and tucking the cakes into coaster-size buns, which are topped with Old Bay tartar sauce, lettuce and tomato.

“We started serving food when we realized that people were gathering here to drink, to watch TV, to play games, but if they got hungry, they left to go someplace else,” Reeves says. “We’re not offering full meals here. Just high-end appetizers.”